Williams-Sonoma, Inc. $WSM Shares Bought by iA Global Asset Management Inc.

iA Global Asset Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) by 82.5% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 9,151 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after buying an additional 4,136 shares during the period. iA Global Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Williams-Sonoma were worth $1,495,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WSM. Brighton Jones LLC increased its position in Williams-Sonoma by 22.4% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 6,742 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $1,248,000 after buying an additional 1,236 shares during the period. Bison Wealth LLC acquired a new position in shares of Williams-Sonoma in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $227,000. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC acquired a new position in shares of Williams-Sonoma in the first quarter valued at approximately $895,000. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 27.3% in the first quarter. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 2,621 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $414,000 after purchasing an additional 562 shares during the period. Finally, IFM Investors Pty Ltd increased its holdings in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 6.6% in the first quarter. IFM Investors Pty Ltd now owns 24,595 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $3,810,000 after purchasing an additional 1,532 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.29% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on WSM shares. Citigroup boosted their target price on Williams-Sonoma from $162.00 to $202.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, August 22nd. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their target price on Williams-Sonoma from $212.00 to $213.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, August 28th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on Williams-Sonoma from $179.00 to $203.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, August 28th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on Williams-Sonoma from $168.00 to $215.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, August 28th. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on Williams-Sonoma from $185.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, August 28th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have assigned a Buy rating, ten have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $198.56.

Insider Transactions at Williams-Sonoma

In related news, EVP Karalyn Yearout sold 3,500 shares of Williams-Sonoma stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $198.79, for a total transaction of $695,765.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 14,003 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,783,656.37. The trade was a 20.00% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Laura Alber sold 90,000 shares of Williams-Sonoma stock in a transaction on Monday, September 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $200.17, for a total value of $18,015,300.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 876,927 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $175,534,477.59. This represents a 9.31% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 114,153 shares of company stock valued at $22,901,008. Company insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Williams-Sonoma Price Performance

Williams-Sonoma stock opened at $192.48 on Tuesday. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a 1-year low of $125.33 and a 1-year high of $219.98. The company has a market cap of $23.44 billion, a PE ratio of 21.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.16 and a beta of 1.55. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $194.64 and its 200 day moving average price is $179.43.

Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 27th. The specialty retailer reported $2.00 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.79 by $0.21. Williams-Sonoma had a return on equity of 54.47% and a net margin of 14.54%.The firm had revenue of $1.84 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.82 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.74 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Williams-Sonoma has set its FY 2025 guidance at EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Williams-Sonoma, Inc. will post 8.36 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Williams-Sonoma Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 21st. Investors of record on Friday, October 17th will be issued a dividend of $0.66 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 17th. This represents a $2.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.4%. Williams-Sonoma’s payout ratio is currently 29.04%.

Williams-Sonoma Profile

Williams-Sonoma, Inc operates as an omni-channel specialty retailer of various products for home. It offers cooking, dining, and entertaining products, such as cookware, tools, electrics, cutlery, tabletop and bar, outdoor, furniture, and a library of cookbooks under the Williams Sonoma Home brand, as well as home furnishings and decorative accessories under the Williams Sonoma lifestyle brand; and furniture, bedding, lighting, rugs, table essentials, and decorative accessories under the Pottery Barn brand.